susan rice. will she be the president's secretary of state nominee and could she get confirmed in the senate at this point? >> i can't say that because the president has not told me what his decision will be. there have been two excellent names mentioned, ambassador rice and my colleague, senator kerry. either one of them would have a tough job following the great job of hillary clinton, but they could both serve this country in an extraordinary way as secretary of state. >> you're saying that rice could get confirmed? >> i do believe so. i think at the end, some of the criticisms against her have been unwarranted. many have gone just too far. there is really a basic feeling of fairness. she is an extraordinary person. she's certainly well educated and has really served our nation well as ambassador to the united nations. >> all right. and msnbc's lawrence o'donnell. all coming up after the break. >>> "me >>> coming up here, as hillary clinton prepares to step down as secretary of state, her popu